Greene Central drops in OT

By Keith Spence / Correspondent

Published: Saturday, October 12, 2013 at 01:14 AM.

Somehow, after Batchelor took a knee on fourth down from the GC’s own 30, there was still 0.1 seconds showing on the clock, and even that amount was restored to 2.0 seconds after the officials met to discuss the situation.

With time still on the clock and the change of possession, AG’s offense returned to the field for one final snap. Cannon lofted a perfect jump ball toward the end zone that Chargers’ receiver Giddell Watters corralled despite being blanketed by a trio of GC defenders.

Josh Walston calmly booted the extra point and the game headed into overtime knotted at 21-21.

“It‘s a play we’ve never tried before,” AG coach Paul Cornwell said. “We lined up all of our tallest receivers on one side and told Hunter to just throw the ball to the end zone. He made a nice throw and Giddell made an outstanding catch.”

Despite starting its first overtime drive from the 25 instead of the 10 because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed during the end of regulation confusion, GC collected itself enough to score first in the extra session.

Batchelor found Michael Mitchell with a 24-yard TD strike, but then the Chargers got a huge break when GC kicker Alex Firme hurried the extra point kick just enough that it sailed wide left, leaving the Rams with a precarious 27-21 lead.

The Chargers needed just one play to register the equalizer on Drew Turnage’s 10-yard run. Walston’s fourth successful point after kick sealed the miraculous victory.

There’s no logical rationalization for how the Chargers were able to rally from a 21-0 fourth quarter deficit—thanks to a hodgepodge of deft passing by quarterback Hunter Cannon, the inability of the GC secondary to knock down a Hail Mary thrown into triple coverage and some atrocious clock mismanagement by the officiating crew that would have made the NFL replacement refs hide in shame.

It went down like this in the Eastern Carolina 2A Conference opener for both teams:

After R. J. Nelson scampered 8 yards to paydirt to bring the Chargers (1-6, 1-0) within 21-14 with 1:11 left to play, GC was able to recover the ensuing onside kick.

Four kneel downs by Rams’ quarterback Austin Batchelor countered by just one remaining AG timeout should have easily killed the clock — game over, GC victory.

Except that twice the officials paused the clock for reasons unknown and then even added additional time back when they determined that Batchelor didn’t kneel down fast enough for their liking on second down.

Somehow, after Batchelor took a knee on fourth down from the GC’s own 30, there was still 0.1 seconds showing on the clock, and even that amount was restored to 2.0 seconds after the officials met to discuss the situation.

With time still on the clock and the change of possession, AG’s offense returned to the field for one final snap. Cannon lofted a perfect jump ball toward the end zone that Chargers’ receiver Giddell Watters corralled despite being blanketed by a trio of GC defenders.

Josh Walston calmly booted the extra point and the game headed into overtime knotted at 21-21.

“It‘s a play we’ve never tried before,” AG coach Paul Cornwell said. “We lined up all of our tallest receivers on one side and told Hunter to just throw the ball to the end zone. He made a nice throw and Giddell made an outstanding catch.”

Despite starting its first overtime drive from the 25 instead of the 10 because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed during the end of regulation confusion, GC collected itself enough to score first in the extra session.

Batchelor found Michael Mitchell with a 24-yard TD strike, but then the Chargers got a huge break when GC kicker Alex Firme hurried the extra point kick just enough that it sailed wide left, leaving the Rams with a precarious 27-21 lead.

The Chargers needed just one play to register the equalizer on Drew Turnage’s 10-yard run. Walston’s fourth successful point after kick sealed the miraculous victory.

“We didn’t get many breaks from the officials, but they’re not the reason we lost,” GC coach Allen Wooten said. “We were in the driver’s seat with a 21-0 lead, and then at the end all we had to do was bat down one pass. We had our chances but just couldn’t finish.”

The first half was scoreless until the Rams struck twice for TD’s in the final 34.4 seconds of the second quarter.

Batchelor’s one-yard plunge capped a 4-play, 53-yard drive, most of which came on a bubble screen to Curtez Braswell that covered 46 yards.

Two plays later, AG’s Nelson lost his first of four fumbles, giving the Rams the ball back at the AG 20 with 9.2 seconds left before intermission.

One play was all GC (0-7, 0-1) needed as Batchelor and Mitchell hooked up in the near left corner of the end zone to give the Rams a 14-0 lead at the break.

That lead swelled to 21-0 when Greene Central’s Ronshon Bullock plowed over from the 3 just a minute into the final period.

But the Chargers didn’t wilt, finally denting the scoreboard on Cannon’s one-yard dive at the 7:44 mark, culminating an 8-play, 63-yard march.

The key play came when Cannon and Drew Turnage connected on 26-yard pass on 4th and 23 from the GC 30.

The Chargers actually recovered an onside kick after their first score but then promptly coughed the ball back to the Rams on the very next play, one of 6 fumbles lost by AG in the mud and muck.

Trailing 21-7, A-G moved 56 yards in 5 plays to close the gap to 21-14.

Cannon, who had not attempted a pass the entire game until the fourth quarter, was especially impressive on the drive, completing 3-of-4 for 48 yards.

Cannon finished 5-of-6 through the air for 104 yards, all in the last stanza.

“We kept fighting and didn’t give up,” Cornwell said. “It feels great to get that first win and start off the conference season the right way, but my heart breaks for those Greene Central kids. They played their hearts out. I’ve been on the wrong side of a few games like this and it’s a tough way to lose.”

Although Nelson had trouble hanging onto the ball, he was still the Chargers’ offensive catalyst, rushing for 144 yards on 27 carries.

“R. J. played four games with a cast on his arm and didn’t fumble once,” Cornwell said. “I know it was wet and slippery out there, but we’ve got to do a better job of protecting the football.”

GC turned the ball over twice, both on first half interceptions that stalled drives on the Chargers side of the field.

Despite the two picks, Batchelor completed 14 of 23 passes for 203 yards.

“We threw the ball well and played a good game defensively for the most part,” Wooten said. “I thought we were the better team for the majority of the game, but give Ayden-Grifton credit for making plays at the end. We still have four conference games to play so we have to keep our heads up. We can’t let this one game dictate what happens in the next four.”

The Chargers take to the road next week at South Lenoir, while GC returns home to face North Lenoir for homecoming.